Automatically-operated gate.



Y J. T. WALSTON. AUTOMATICALLY OPERATED GATE.

APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 2, 1910.

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J. T. WALSTON. AUTOMATICALLY OPERATED GATE.

1 APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2, 1910.

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JOHN T. WALSTON, OF SFRINGFIELD, MISSOURI.

AUTOMATICALLY-OPERATED GATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2'2, 1910.

Application filed June 2, 1910. Serial I\To. 564 .639.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be-it known that 1, JOHN T. TALSTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Greene and State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Antonia tically-Operated Gates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to gates of that type consisting of two sect-ions mounted to swing upwardly and outwardly to opposite sides of the road in the opening movement of the gate, and it relates more particularly to automatic operating means for gates of this character.

The invention has for one of its objects to improve and simplify the construction and operation of gate operating means so as to be reliable and e'llicient in use, composed of few parts, and of such design that the gate sections will be normally locked closed and can only be opened by the operating means, such operating means being trips located in the roadbed so as to be operated by a train or vehicle striking the trips or by means of levers arranged at opposite sides of the gate so that the gate can be opened manually while approaching the same.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel gate operating means including an operating rock shaft and toggle links between the rock shaft and swinging gate sections so that the toggle links will serve to lock the gate sections closed since the joints of the toggle links are normally off dead center.

With these objects in view and others, as will app-ear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate certain embodiments of the invention, Figure 1 is a side view of the apparatus as applied to a railroad. Fig. 2 is a plan View thereof. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 33, Fig. 2. Fig. i is a fragmentary side view similar to Fig. 1 except that the parts are shown in gate open position. Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to the right end of Fig. 3, with one of the gate sections shown in open position. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the toggle connec tion between the actuating rock shaft and the gate section, the figures showing the parts in normal or closed position by full lines and in open position by dotted lines. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view of one of the ball bearings for the gate sections. Fig. 8 is a detail section on line 88, Fig. Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section of the apparatus as applied to a wagon road. Fig. 10 is a vertical section taken transversely of the roadway. Fig. 11 is an enlarged de tail view of the toggle connection between the operating rock shaft and one of the gate sections showing by dotted lines the parts when the gate is closed and by full lines when the gate is open.

Similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the railroad tracks that are mounted on cross ties 2, and the roadbed is provided with parallel beams 3 where the gate is installed. The space between the beams 2 is covered by plates t so as to keep out the snow, sleet and ice, and thereby prevent interference with the automatic operation of the gate, since the operating mechanism is largely located under the cover plates t. The beams extend some distance beyond the sides of the roadbed and they support housings A at opposite sides of the track so as to re ceive the sections of the gate as they swing open. and by providing these housings, the banking of the snow at the sides of the track will not interefero with the opening of the gate. Each housing is closed except at the side next to the track, where a vertical slot 5 is provided to permit the gate section to swing in and out.

The gate B consists of two sections 1) and Z), which extend transversely across the track and meet at the center, one gate sec tion being provided with spaced fingers 6 so arranged that the opposite gate section can enter between the fingers and thus withstand any attemptto open the gates laterally and also insure the proper alinement of the gate sections. Each gate section has at its lower outer corner a horizontal rock shaft 7 which has its ends disposed in bearings 8 fastened to the beams 3, and each bearing is provided with a cup 9 that screws into the same and holds a plurality of bearing balls 10 that extend around the journals 11 on the ends of the rock shaft. The rock shafts 7 are disposed parallel with the track rails and are located outwardly from the same and the said shafts are disposed in such close proximity to the housings A that the outer edges of the gate sections will be disposed in the housings when the gate is closed. On the vertical outer edges of the gate sections are weather strips 12 which normally engage behind inwardly-extending flanges 13 of the housings A so as to prevent snow from entering the latter. Each gate is provided at its lower outer corner with a depending arm 13 that is provided with a counterbalancing weight 1st which assists in the initial part of the opening and closing movement of the gate, the said arms and weights being disposed between the beams 3 and under the plates 1.

The gate sections are adapted to open and close simultaneously with the operating mechanism consisting of a rock shaft 15 extending horizontally under and transversely to the track rails, and the ends thereof are mounted in bearings 16 secured to the under side of the beams 3. Adjacent each end of the rock shaft 15 is an upwardly-extending crank arm 1'7 that is connected by a link 18 with an outwardly and upwardly-extending arm 19 on the adjacent gate section, said arm 19 being disposed at the lower outer corner of the gate section. The arms 17 and links 18 form toggle connections between the rock shaft and gate sections, and the pivot 20 between the two members 17 and 18 of the toggle connection, as shown in Fig. 6, is normally disposed at one side of a line passing through the axis of the rock shaft 15 and through the point of connection between the link or member 18 and the gate section arm 19. In other words, the hinge joint 20 is out of a dead center line when the gate is closed, and this means that the gate sections cannot be opened by taking hold of them directly and attempting to swing the same upwardly, and it is possible to open the gate sections only by turning the rock shaft 15.

The locking action can be best understood by reference to Fig. 6. In attempting to throw the gate open, the arm 19 swings downwardly about the shaft 7 as an axis, and this arm tends to move the link 18 longitudinally and causes the arm 17 to swing in a clockwise direction about the shaft 15 as an axis.

In order to transmit movement from the arm 19 to the arm 17, the link 18 must change its angle of inclination, but this is prevented by the binding of the parts where the link is connected with the arm 19. The link 18 is shown in full lines at the limit of its movement to one side of the dead center line passing through the points 15 and 21.

In order to adjust the parts so that the hinge joint or pivot 20, Fig. 6, will be disposed to one side of the dead center line when the gate is closed, the link 18 is composed of two adjustably connected parts a and a threaded one within the other, and by detaching either one of these sections from the part to which it is connected, the section can be turned so as to lengthen or shorten the link. The upper end of the link 18 is connected with the arm 19 of the gate by a bolt 21, and the opening 22 through which the bolt passes is large enough to permit the link to have a swinging movement from the full to the dotted line position and vice versa in the opening and closing of the gate. The arm 17 and arms 19 swing in planes disposed at right angles to each other, and consequently the links 18 will swing laterally at the same time they are moved longitudinally. The rock shaft 15 in the present in stance is operated by trip bars 28 which extend parallel with and along the outer edges of the track rails and normally they are disposed above the treads of the rails so that the wheels of a passing train will depress the track bars. These track bars extend past the gate in each direction and are mounted on parallel links 2% fulcrumed on bearings 25 suitably secured to the track rails, and one link 24: of each trip bar is in the form of a rocker that has a depending arm 26 that is connected by a link 27 with a crank arm 28 on the rock shaft. The trip bars can be held raised by springs 29 connected respectively to the trip bar and to an adjacent cross tie so as to exert a pull on the trip bar in a direction to yieldingly maintain the same raised with the links 2-;t inclined to one side of the vertical so that the trip bar will have a combined longitudinal and downward movement when the wheels of a train strike and pass over the same. Since the trip bars extend beyond the gate, the bars will be held depressed until the train passes through the gate and as soon as the train wheels ride off the trip bars, the gate sections will gravitate to closed position and the trip bars will be raised.

Referring now to Figs. 9, 10 and 11, the sections of the gate are adapted to be opened by a rock shaft 30 which extends along one side of the roadway and is mounted at its ends in posts 81 and at an intermediate point in a bearing 32, there being crank arms 88 on the ends of the rock shaft which are connected by links or connecting rods 34 with operating levers 85 fulcrumed on the upper ends of the posts. The rock shaft 30 is suitably connected with the horizontally-ex tending rock shaft 15 and consequently as either lever is pulled down, the sections will be thrown open, while an opposite movement of either lever will close the gate sections. The gate sections are connected with the horizontal rock shaft 15 by toggle con nections which operate in the same manner as the toggle connections described in connection with the other form of the invention, except that the links 18 are not shown as adjustably connected parts. The levers for operating the gates take the place of the track trips shown in connection with Figs. 1 and 2. One of the arms 17 on the rock shaft 15 is connected by a link 36 with a crank arm 37 on the rock shaft ,30 so that by this connecting means, the rock shaft 15 is actuated whenever one of the operating levers is manipulated.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying draw ings, the advantages of the construction and of the method of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I have described the principle of operation of the invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is merely illustrative, and that such changes may be made when desired as are within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, is

1. A gate comprising oppositely-swinging sections, a rock shaft disposed under the sections, means for operating the rock shaft, and a toggle joint between the rock shaft and each gate section for moving the latter by the rocking of the shaft and forming locks for preventing the gate sections from being opened except by the rock shaft.

2. A gate comprising oppositely-swinging sect-ions, means for mounting the gate to swing on their outer lower corners, outwardly and upwardlyextending arms on the lower outer corners of the sections, a rock shaft extending under the sections and parallel with the plane in which the sections swing, crank arms on the rock shaft, links connected with the last-mentioned arms and connected with the arms on the gate sections, said links being of such length that the point of connection between them and the arms on the rock shaft will be disposed to one side of lines passing through the rock shaft and through the points of connection between the gate arms and links when the gate sections are closed, and means for rocking the shaft to swing the gate sections.

3. A gate comprising oppositely-swinging sections, means for mounting the gate to swing on their outer lower corners, outwardly and upwardly extending arms on the lower outer corners of the sections, a rock shaft extending under the sections and parallel with the plane in which the sections swing, crank arms on the rock shaft, links connected with the last-mentioned arms and connected with the arms on the gate sections, said links being of such length that the point of connection between them and the arms on the rock shaft will be disposed to one side of lines passing through the rock shaftand through the points of connection between the gate arms and links when the gate sections are closed, means for rocking the shaftto swing the gate sections, said links being composed of adj ustably connected parts for permitting the links to be lengthened or shortened.

41-. A gate comprising oppositely-swinging sections, means for mounting the gate to swing on their outer lower corners, outwardly and upwardly extending arms on the lower outer corners of the sections, av rock shaft extending under the sections and parallel with the plane in which the sections swing, crank arms on, the rock shaft, links connected with the last-mentioned arms and connected with the arms on the gate sections, said links being of such length that the point of connection between them and the arms on the rock shaft will be disposed to one side of lines passing through the rock shaft and through the points of connection between the gate arms and links when the gate sections are closed, 1 cans for rocking the shaft to swing the gate sections, said links being composed of adjustably connected parts for permitting the links to be lengthened or shortened, and means connected with the gate sections for counterbalancing the same.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN T. ll ALSTON. lVitnesses BURNETT S. J ONES, C. BRADWAY. 

